SARASOTA, Fla. – Tomoyuki Sugano can work through a lineup and jet lag with similar ease. The first bullpen session for Sugano this morning lived up to the tremendous hype. He threw 35 pitches and exhibited his usual pinpoint control. Only the slider was omitted from a repertoire that consisted of a four-seam fastball, cutter, splitter, sinker and

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – James Wood sat out defensive drills on the first day of full-squad workouts, the Nationals left fielder hampered by left quadriceps tendinitis. Wood insisted it’s nothing serious, and he was able to take batting practice today with no apparent issues. The ailment has been bothering him since the offseason, though, enough to

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Orioles are hoping to catch Albert Suárez in a bottle. They signed pitcher Rodolfo Martinez to a minor league contract on Nov. 1, the magnitude of it pretty much lost on the baseball world. He hadn’t been with an affiliated team since 2019 in the Giants system, with his travels taking him to the Dominican Republic, Mexico and J

SARASOTA, Fla. – Jordan Westburg is intense. Fans like intense.  Would his friends and family describe him that way? “Probably,” Westburg laughed. “I can be intense, you know? I’m not gonna dodge those allegations. But I do think there’s a lighter side, there’s a less serious side to me off the field especially. But here, I’m kind of very busi

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – There’s no ill will. Josh Bell wished he could’ve been a National this entire time, but he has always understood why Mike Rizzo included him in the Juan Soto trade package that brought five prospects to D.C. in August 2022 and remade the franchise for the long term. “That’s just baseball,” he said. “I would have made the sam

SARASOTA, Fla. – Scott McGregor won big games for the Orioles, including his shutout against the Phillies to clinch the 1983 World Series. He served in a variety of roles upon his retirement, including rehab pitching coordinator for eight seasons before his dismissal in 2019. He had worked as a pitching coach in the minors and fill-in bullpen coach

SARASOTA, Fla. – The most popular figure this morning on the back fields at the Ed Smith Stadium complex wasn’t one of the players. It was the man who signs their checks. Owner and control person David Rubenstein reported to camp, toured the complex and signed autographs for fans behind the fences. The scene usually plays out at Camden Yards during

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Day two of live batting practice at Nationals camp saw several returning pitchers on the mound facing teammates. It also saw one especially notable newcomer who drew tons of extra attention. Shinnosuke Ogasawara had a large crowd assembled on Field 3 behind the plate, in the dugouts and behind the fences, with everyone from

SARASOTA, Fla. – Kyle Bradish is throwing on flat ground and reported this morning that his surgically repaired right elbow is responding in a positive manner. He just can’t predict his return or look too far ahead. The road traveled after a ligament-reconstructive procedure keeps him in the slow lane. “Arm feels really good,” Bradish said this mor

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Nathaniel Lowe looked around the Nationals clubhouse Sunday morning and tried to get used to a few ideas previously foreign to him. He’s not only the new guy in camp, having spent the last four seasons with the Rangers. He’s also now a veteran among a sea of promising young players, even though he’s only 29 himself and still